Aggressive Ball Python (previously docile)

[Kamille Kirkendoll]

His temps., humidity, etc. are all correct (verified through a few BP manuals), so I really don't want to delve into all of that again. We've had him for a few months, and he's been a doll (besides being a little timid) until recently. Our corn, Apollo, is still in our room, and he has had NO behavior issues or changes in behavior.

I was planning on getting rats, so I posted a thread asking members if it would affect my snakes at all, and everyone said it wouldn't bother them at all...well, Basil bit my boyfriend when we had him out. He was also acting defensive (head out of hide, protecting himself), which is why we decided to move him into my little brother Sam's room. Sam's room doesn't smell like rats (and the AC/Heat isn't ever on, as we're in Texas). Anyway, Sam was turning on the lights in his bedroom, and Basil launched himself at the top of the cage, trying to get Sam...which is disturbing considering Basil was a doll.

Basil is eating like he normally does (...if not more aggressively).

Any advice?

[If our home isn't the right one for Basil, I'm willing to give him to an experienced owner. Someone who has a good track record with snakes and can afford to take him to vet or has experience taking care of issues at home. I'm located in College Station, TX. Cannot drive a long distance (car accident), but willing to meet somewhere in College Station (possibly Bryan, or Snook.]

If we decide he needs a more experienced home, there may be an intense interview (a billion and two questions). Sorry, but I'd rather he stay with us then go with someone who merely just wants a snake. He needs love.

I would like to keep him, but I'm willing to give him to a better home if you're interested. He would come with his 40 gallon breeder and accessories (including feeding bin...unless you want to pass on them). We were hoping to be his forever home, but I want to do what is best by him. My partner and I have NO experience with aggressive snakes (and Basil is about 4 feet long and a BIG boy).

Sorry for the long post. Thank you all in advance.

[The Serpent Merchant]

If you are absolutely sure that his husbandry is correct, and you are feeding him enough food then there isn't much that can be done.

a few questions:

• does he have enough cover to feel secure in his tank?
• is there anything at all that happened that might ave triggered this?
• has his attitude changed all the time or just every now and again?
• are you sure that you don't just smell like dinner to him? (which goes back to do you feed him enough)

[heathers*bps]

How much does he weigh and what size are you feeding him? Also how often?

[RestlessRobie]

The one and only AGRESSIVE snake I ever took in was only hungry. So I lean toward that a lot. What are you and what does he weigh. for a big guy like that I would recomend 15% of body weight every 7 days. Or if you are just going buy size get something a little bigger or move to feeding a litle more often. My Big girl 1300G is in the same room as the daughters pet rats and we have had no problems. She was the only agressive snake like I said earlier and well she would strike at anything in her cage. Moved her to small rats 1 every 7 days and now she is a real sweetheart loves to come out and hang with us watching TV as much as a snake can. The only other advice I would give is does he feel secure 2 tight fitting hides and 3 sides of the enclosure blacked out? I really hope this helps I am pretty sure its not rats being in the room with him

[Kamille Kirkendoll]

If you are absolutely sure that his husbandry is correct, and you are feeding him enough food then there isn't much that can be done.

a few questions:

• does he have enough cover to feel secure in his tank?
• is there anything at all that happened that might ave triggered this?
• has his attitude changed all the time or just every now and again?
• are you sure that you don't just smell like dinner to him? (which goes back to do you feed him enough)

He has his favorite hide (http://www.reptile-food-direct.co.uk...tile_cave.html) and he also has a half log in there. His attitude has been consistent the last few months that we've had him (curious but shy with sudden movements). We upgraded him to a large rat recently (his previous owner fed medium).

If he attacked my partner and I (who live in the room with our rats), it would be one thing, but he lunged at Sam, who smells like...teenage boy.

We'll try to work with him if there's nothing else we can do, but thanks for the questions.

[Kamille Kirkendoll]

The one and only AGRESSIVE snake I ever took in was only hungry. So I lean toward that a lot. What are you and what does he weigh. for a big guy like that I would recomend 15% of body weight every 7 days. Or if you are just going buy size get something a little bigger or move to feeding a litle more often. My Big girl 1300G is in the same room as the daughters pet rats and we have had no problems. She was the only agressive snake like I said earlier and well she would strike at anything in her cage. Moved her to small rats 1 every 7 days and now she is a real sweetheart loves to come out and hang with us watching TV as much as a snake can. The only other advice I would give is does he feel secure 2 tight fitting hides and 3 sides of the enclosure blacked out? I really hope this helps I am pretty sure its not rats being in the room with him

Thanks for the post! We'll black out three sides of his tank and we upgraded him to a larger food item. I'll see if his behavior mellows out. It may just be that he's hungry. His previous owner had no other pets, so she may have been able to get away with a smaller prey item.

Thanks again!

[JohnyB]

i have a baby girl and an adult male.. they are both very very timid.
The female especially, shes even timid when eating.. very soft strikes... kinda funnny.
My male is a monster when he eats.. scares me some times but when they are out and being handled they are loves.
... the point im trying to make comes in here- I have a dog and i live with my grandma.
so my snakes love being handled but when other people and animals come around they get visably upset and nervous and agitated... that could be it.

hope this helps.. sorry to here about the agression problem

[Annarose15]

How often are you feeding him? I didn't see a response to that part of the question above. Upping his prey size is less efficient for his body to process than feeding smaller prey more often, which means he could still be aggressive again before the next scheduled feeding day.

Secondly, I know you said he is set up properly according to "BP manuals," but I haven't seen anything printed in less than an $80 book that was as helpful as the caresheet on this site. I'm not asking for you to go through and tell us all your settings, but please review them with this information in mind:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ius)-Caresheet

I would definitely add another cave-style hide to his enclosure - the log style doesn't really offer much security since it is open on both ends.

Added: You can always get a snake hook for getting him out of his cage, even though you of course want to find the source of his stress. Even though he seems huge, most fear "bites" are more like him hitting you with his mouth (not biting), which won't harm even a teenage boy.